After five years, Louisville Pride Foundation’s first ever Executive Director, Mike Slaton, announced he will leave the organization on December 31. Slaton will join the Louisville Orchestra as their first Major Gifts Officer. Slaton began his time with the Foundation as a volunteer, chairing the operations committee for the inaugural Louisville Pride Festival in 2015. He was the Foundation’s first […]
Three Kentucky cities scored 100 on the twelfth edition of the Municipal Equality Index, the only comprehensive nationwide assessment of LGBTQ+ equality in the areas of municipal policies, laws and services. The three cities are Covington, Lexington, and Louisville. The Municipal Equality Index scores the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United […]
by Kit Bordeaux they/them The bar was alive. I stood on a booth to see the stage and found myself looking out over a crowd of dancing, smiling, crying faces. My friend and fellow performer, Luna Luz, was in the spotlight. Her burlesque act was completely different from the one before her, a classic showgirl […]
Actors Theatre of Louisville is proud to herald this imaginative interpretation of Shakespeare’s King John. Unfolding in a treacherous world ruled by self-interest, warmongering, and a lack of moral leadership, this fascinating political thriller follows a scheming monarch battling threats from abroad and within. Produced in association with upstart crow collective—a company dedicated to re-contextualizing […]
Beyond the small entryway, on the dance floor and at the meat racks across from the bar, was where Louisville’s gay congregation met to whore-ship, and David’s first few weeks at that bar were a “real revelation.” “I found Jesus. Except he was sitting at the end of the bar having a drink,” Williams said. […]
story by Jessica Carner she/her photo by Quinton Thomas he/him I’m what you might call a late bloomer; a “later-in-life” lesbian. It’s a thing, y’all. Even though my first romantic relationship was with a woman, when that young love died on the vine I pushed those feelings aside and conformed to what was expected of […]
by Himothy Hazardus I think some would say I had a unique experience growing up as a queer Appalachian atheist in rural Kentucky. I’ve always presented masculine of center despite being born a biological female. I’m a textbook transgender man, but my relationship with religion is undeniably intertwined with my identity just as much, if […]
Story by Sydni Hampton she/they Photos by Ash When I first met Larah Helayne (they/he) at a bar during a show I was performing in, I was just drinking up the compliments and praise a drag queen receives throughout the night. I had no idea this random introduction would lead to me ending up being […]
Story by Noa August Photos by Jason Morales I tried my best to play the role of masculine partner in my relationships. I was stoic, providing, logical, strong, domineering… I thought that if I was this unbothered, mysterious, nonchalant person, I would be identifiably queer. I wholly embraced mysteriousness, assertiveness, decisiveness, independence; and while some […]
by Charles Stephens photo: bell hooks in 1995. Photograph by Monica Almeida/The New York Times/Redux I am a Black gay man from the South. I grew up in a working-class community in Southwest Atlanta that shaped my politics as much as my identity. bell hooks was an accomplished scholar, academic, and public intellectual from Kentucky, […]
The Big Stomp Returns to Louisville August 18-19, 2023 Two-day festival to feature Lettuce, Bahamas and The Heartless Bastards and 30+ acts, plus full slate activities that support mental health and wellbeing Louisville, Ky. (May 16, 2023) – The Big Stomp, the nation’s first music festival to focus on mental health, will return August 18 […]
Queer Kentucky is a diverse LGBTQ+ run non-profit based in Louisville, Kentucky working to bolster and enhance Queer culture and health through storytelling, education and action. Through our storytelling approach, we give visibility and celebrate the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the great Bluegrass State. LOUISVILLE, Ky. Aug 15, 2023 [email protected] Queer Kentucky is launching […]
PRESS RELEASE July 27, 2023—Rustin’ In The Rain, the new album from renowned singer, songwriter and musician Tyler Childers, will be released September 8 on Hickman Holler Records/RCA Records (pre-order/pre-save). Of the album, Childers shares, “This is a collection of songs I playfully pieced together as if I was pitching a group of songs to […]
Imagine you showed up to your job and were told that, because your gender made your coworkers uncomfortable, you’d need to start dressing differently or the police would be called to remove you from the property. That’s what happened to Nedra McNeil, the former Beechmont Open Air Manager, on June 16th, 2023. McNeil, whose pronouns […]
by Belle Townsend she/[email protected] Named one of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the nation, the gender-affirming care component of the omnibus anti-trans bill SB 150 has been TEMPORARILY BLOCKED by a federal judge. This means that gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth has been at least temporarily found unconstitutional and a continuum of care can […]
Photo by Emmett Valentin “The first Pride was a riot.” This slogan went viral in June of 2020, after countless white queer Louisvillians were activated by LMPD’s murder of Breonna Taylor and the growing global uprising against police brutality. Its primary use was to agitate the ruling class Gays™️ who were critical of the Black […]
The Drag Show Will Benefit the Church’s Ministry of Feeding Neighbors in Need by J.C. Phelps Louisville, KY [June 2023] – Calvary Episcopal Church, which was founded in 1860, has a long history of reaching out in love to their neighbors. In that spirit, the Downtown Louisville congregation invites and welcomes all inside their doors to […]
Sunday, June 11 – RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15’s Jax comes to Play Louisville. Jax is an NYC-based drag queen affectionately known as the Simone Biles of Drag. Expect plenty of flips and stunts at this show! TICKETS Sunday, June 18 – Boulet Brothers Dragula Season 4 and Titans finalist Hoso Terra Toma makes her Louisville debut. […]
There’s a man in a synthetic wig, the fibers shining on camera, eyes coated in blue, heavy eyeshadow and cheap plastic-y lashes that look like they were applied by a 6-year-old experiencing cough syrup for the first time. His stubble is visible, intentionally, the actor going unshaved for the day, and a sequin — perhaps […]
by Belle Townsend (she/they)[email protected] Emma Curtis grew up on her family’s tobacco and cattle farm in Woodford County in central Kentucky, and she considers herself lucky to call Lexington home. A graduate of Woodford County High School and Centre College, Curtis is an independent filmmaker who tells the stories of “interesting, amazing, and fascinating” people […]
by Spencer Jenkins he/[email protected] photos by Bearykah Shaw Grab the print edition of Queer Kentucky Volume 2 Throughout my career as a professional queer journalist, I have met a circus of people from every corner of the world. From famous Ru girls to trail- blazing activists and politicians; from Queer Eye’s Carson Kressley to comedy […]
By Spencer Jenkins he/[email protected] Booty shorts, knee-high socks and belly-revealing crop tops are just some of the looks to embody for the Nashville-based event, MeatUp, coming to PLAY Louisville on May 27. MeatUp is an event created by couple Al Gregory and Toby Sturgill, and their friend Griffin Green. It offers a retro-inspired experience for […]
On May 1st 2023, the Party for Socialism and Liberation held a May Day block party and rally for trans rights at Old Louisville Coffee Co-op in Louisville. The event kicked off with a march, which began at Central Park, and ended in front of the coffee shop. I had been assigned the role of […]
by Sydni Hamptonshe/[email protected] Each year, hopeful contestants from Arizona to New York, descend upon Louisville in hopes of being crowned the next National Entertainer of the Year. Winners include the likes of Maya Douglas (1997, F.I.,) Erica Andrews (2006, F.I.,) Nina West (2008, F.I., RuPauls Drag Race,) Mokha Montrese (2012, F.I.,) and Trinity “The Tuck” […]
by Taylor Cochranshe/[email protected] Queer Kentucky is a proud partner of the Lee Initiative. This is the first part of a series of stories uplifting Queer voices within the hospitality industry in partnership with the Lee Initiative. “We started The LEE Initiative in Louisville, KY in 2018 after we saw a need for more diversity, more training, […]
By Belle Townsendshe/[email protected] Silas House, a Whitley County-born author whose works have become beloved bestsellers, was selected by Governor Andy Beshear to be Kentucky’s 2023-24 Poet Laureate. “I think it’s particularly important to me right now, to be trusted as the governor as a representative, in a time when there’s so much anti-LGBTQ+ legislation out […]
by Belle Townsendshe/[email protected] “I’m so sorry that we even have to be here,” said Cherlynn Stevenson (she/her) to the audience of concerned Kentuckians. Stevenson, the District 88 state representative and House Democratic Caucus Chair, opened the Bluegrass LGBTQ+ Town Hall held in Lexington, Kentucky, held in response to the recent legislative LGBTQ+ attacks. She continued […]
by Belle Townsendshe/they [email protected] With Omnibus anti-trans bill SB 150 passing in Kentucky, transgender and gender non-conforming Kentuckians and their loved ones are worried for their safety and access to life-saving medical care. Hosted by Suzanne Kingery, M.D. (she/her) and presented by the LGBT Center and Office of Diversity & Inclusion, University of Louisville, Health […]
Editor’s Note: Comments were requested from both Kelly Craft and Impellizzeri’s Pizza, but neither responded. A request for the police report has been submitted the the Middletown Police Department. We will add to the story as soon as it is available. On Monday April 10th, a Black trans man from Louisville’s West End, Alexander Griggs, […]
by Sydni Hampton (They/Them, She/Her) Alice in Derbyland Returns for Third Year to Celebrate Derby Festivities Sydni Hampton (They/Them, She/Her) It’s that time of year again… Mint Juleps, larger-than-life hats, pastels, nightmare parking- and Drag Daddy Productions’ ALICE IN DERBYLAND returns to celebrate and pay homage to our city’s beloved Derby traditions for the third […]
